LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has announced that the former president of mortgage document processor DocX was sentenced to 40 months to 20 years in prison for her role in robo-signing fraud.
Lorraine Brown was sentenced on one count of conducting criminal enterprises (racketeering) for her role in authorizing the fraudulent signing of mortgage documents filed in Michigan. Brown pleaded guilty to the racketeering charge on February 11.
"Michigan families continue to grapple with the damage caused by the mortgage foreclosure crisis," Schuette said. "Shortcuts at taken at the expense of Michigan homeowners will not be tolerated."
In April 2011, Schuette's office inquired into the practices of Georgia-based DocX after county officials reported suspicions of forged assignment of mortgage documents. The name Linda Green was signed to thousands of mortgage-related documents nationwide but with many variations in the handwriting. Schuette found that Brown established and orchestrated a scheme of robo-signing, a practice in which employees were told to fraudulently sign another person's name on mortgage documents to execute the documents more quickly.
Between 2006 and 2009, DocX signed more than 1,000 unauthorized and improperly executed documents with county registers of deeds throughout Michigan.
DocX is a subsidiary of Lender Processing Services Inc. In February, the Jacksonville-based LPS agreed to a $120 million multi-state settlement with 44 state attorney generals and the District of Columbia to resolve allegations of robo-signing and other improper mortgage loan default servicing conduct.
Mich. AG announces sentencing in DocX president case
